Weekly Workout Thread 19th March till 25th March

[Rod]

We're back from dinner. We do love this restaurant. It's very cosmopolitan and the food is so consistently high. It's in the same area our gym is (Mara, it's called 115 Midtown Grill in North Hills - keep this in your notes for your visit here in May!). The bread was good, but not as good as past loaves. Still we have 1/2 left over to enjoy tomorrow night with dinner. We started with crab cakes as an appetizer and they were served with ginger shavings and other greens infused with spices. Really yummy. Charlie, who usually has fish, found one of the dinner specials intriguing. He had the roasted pork tenderloin over thinly sliced sweet potato layers baked with egg and some really interesting seasonings. While I'm not a big fan of sweet potato, this was pretty exceptional. My meal was a filet (after today's workout, I think I was craving protein) in a reduction sauce (can't remember exactly what was reduced, but it was really special), over wasabi mashed potatoes, shoestring onion rings and tempura greenbeans (wow, were they ever fantastic). I ate all the beef and greenbeans, but left most of the mashed potato's and onion rings. Then we walked next door to Starbucks (personally, I find restaurant coffee rather disappointing) and had a cupcake and a cup of coffee and we sat outside on a really perfect night to be outside.

I'm determined to enjoy our remaining couple weeks here, but broken record Rod is so so ready to head home. We talked about the drive home at dinner tonight. Coming up here, we took two days and broke the drive into two six hour sessions. We're anxious to get home and since we don't have to arrive at any particular hour (we had to get here during business hours to sign the lease on the crappy apartment and get the keys), we're going to drive the full 12 hours in one day. Wake up in crappy apartment, put kitties in cars, program navigation systems so we don't get lost, get on the road and only stop for potty breaks and food. Get home, take a shower, go to bed and wake up in our home on the bay in Tampa. YAY YAY YAY!!!!!

Have a great Sunday everyone!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

OK, now THAT was a splurge. I''m talking about dinner at my favorite restaurant of course. Some highlights from tonight: potato, spring onion and goat cheese griddle cakes (sort of like very light, flavorful pancakes) with creme fraiche and arugula pesto, salad with citrus and avocado, amazing fresh bread and organic butter (SO YUMMY - Mara, I am a fellow bread whore), killer local cheese, and the desserts...fromage blanc cheesecake with citrus compote and pistachio crust, fresh apple tart with butter crumb topping and fresh whipped cream and homemade super-rich caramel sauce, and ginger-pecan crunch pear cake with huckleberry creme fraiche ice cream. And possibly the coolest part - I met the chef in the ladies'' room and she came out to our table to say hi to my mom and DH and she remembered that I had mentioned it was my birthday dinner and they put a candle in my dessert without my mom or DH saying anything, so that was really nice. I don''t generally like a big fuss, so that was perfect - just that little something extra-special.

I''m so full I can barely move, but it was worth it. Rod - I just tried to read your post about your dinner but I couldn''t ''cause I was too full LOL...

What''s funny is after all that rich food, I''m so completely ready to go back to my normal lighter diet. Don''t get me wrong, I enjoyed every single bite (and probably way more bites than I needed...) but I just couldn''t eat like this all the time anymore. So tomorrow, back on the normal bandwagon of healthy food and I''m actually looking forward to it, because while I really enjoyed dinner, being bloated and over-full from eating rich food you''re not used to is not so fun. Totally worth it for a once-in-a-while splurge, but I wouldn''t want to do it very often.

 

[Skippy123]

Rod,
I am soooooo happy for you! You deserve to be happy!!!

I am glad you gave your notice.

 

[Mara]

hey AG what place is this that you went to tonite? sounds YUM...and you know we love a good restaurant! glad to hear you had a wonderful time!! and happy birthday (when is it exactly?!).

rod your dinner sounds divine as well...i will definitely file that away for our visit. we are booking our tickets, finally, tomorrow! we just had to finalize today with all greg's fam members we will be visiting after our NC 2 days to make sure that the schedule we had worked for all kinda thing. so we will be out there in late may.

the martini party was a lot of fun...i ended up having no martinis, hahaa...but ate a ton of the appetizers!! they were healthy and we ended up not having dinner out...so i just went ahead and filled up on apps, basically there were three that i indulged in repeatedly...this yummy curry shrimp mixture in small romaine leaves; hummus and warm toasted wheat pita bread; and sliced brie with fuji apples and thin crackers. typically i am not an appetizer only kinda fan, but all three were so yummy that i was fine with eating them for dinner kinda thing.

we were there about 3 hours mixing and mingling, and then we headed off and had dessert and coffee at this great little cafe (where we were talking about getting dinner as well, they have great food and desserts and coffee in a really casual yet trendy atmosphere) a town over from where the party was. for dessert i got a double chocolate mousse cake with whipped cream and a nonfat vanilla latte. the mousse cake was basically two layers of chocolate mousse with a dark chocolate graham cracker thin crust and then whipped cream as a third layer. so i think flourless. yum!! i didn't mind giving up 'dinner' out to have the dessert. and honestly i ate a ton of the apps, hehee, so i was more than full after everything was said and done!! my chocolate mousse cake was really good, SUPER rich and thick so i ended up taking about 30 minutes to eat it!! it was really more of a 'savoring'...which worked out great because greg hadn't eaten that much at the party, so he got a cold meat and cheese plate with sourdough and i got my dessert and our two friends got desserts but they ate theirs really quickly. i enjoyed eating mine slowly for sure!!!

but yeah AG i hear ya on the whole its nice to splurge but simpler fare is great too. i always look fwd to sundays because after a day or two of splurging...i don't mind eating a little more on the light side on sundays. i think i am making us a yummy breakfast tomorrow and then we are having dinner with our neighbors who know our healthy ways, so it should be something yummy yet not too evil hehee.

hope everyone had a great night out!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Went to the gym and did the elliptical for 65 minutes this morning for 536 cals. The whole time there was some woman next to me talking on her cell phone and I just wanted to strangle her. Instead I just blatently eavesdropped, hoping she would get annoyed with me and stop, but no luck. And now I know ALL ABOUT her relationship problems with her sister. Geesh!

Last night I ate way to much of the hubby wonderful casserole. Sometimes I wish I was married to a man who didn''t cook, LOL! This morning I had half a container of yogurt before heading to the gym and I just at a LC for "lunch" (even though it''s only 11:00, but I''ve got to be out the door in half an hour for my open house). I need to load up my purse with a couple of snacks though becuase I won''t be home until after four and I know I will be hungry in between then and now.

And the weater here is PERFECT today -- 72 and sunny right now -- so maybe we''ll take The Demon on a long family walk when this evening. Oh I love spring!!!

 

[Lorelei]

I am remiss in checking in here, but I did do 4 workouts this week, my workout week ends on Sundays, so quite pleased.

Dee you are too funny! Well done on the ellip

 

[AmberGretchen]

Dee - isn't it just amazing the way people behave at the gym?!!! I have a ladies dinner group that meets once a week and gym horror stories are one of our favorite topics

Mara - the restaurant we went to is Green's (at Fort Mason in SF). Its been one of my favorites since I was a kid (I became a vegetarian at age 5). I love that its vegetarian, but its really more about the cuisine and the food, especially the fresh produce. Everything is just exquisite and perfectly prepared, even though some of it is pretty simple. As my DH said, he could eat there every night of the week and not miss the meat at all because everything is so good

Its definitely sort of pricey, but IMO worth it. If you end up going try to get a table in the new, smaller dining room they opened up recently - its much quieter than the main one, and still has pretty views out over the bay.

Your martini party apps and chocolate dessert sound yummy - I love chocolate mousse anything if its well-made, especially with real whipped cream

ETA: my birthday is Tuesday, 3/27

 

[Mara]

Kudos DJ on the elliptical workout...Miss Lorelei I was wondering where you are!? How is that toe?! And DJ I hate hate when people are on their cell phones at the gym, esp when I can hear them through my iPod earbuds, that's too loud of a convo!

AG, oh I will have to see if we can try that restaurant soon. We love going up to SF for dinner and a new one to try is always fun...hehe. Oh yeah and the choco mousse cake last nite had real whipped cream, this cafe makes their own and tops their drinks and stuff with it out of a big bladder bag thing, SO GOOD. and Yes so bad...lol!! It's the gym today for me anyway so I will gladly pay penance.

So, I don't know why but I was restless last nite so i didn't sleep super well. ended up getting up at 7:30 and then greg got up around 9. i had some fage this morning to tide me over til he got up...and cleaned out the fridge, haha.

Then I made us breakfast, which consisted of buttermilk blueberry oatmeal pancakes with center cut bacon. the pancakes were REALLY yummy, i'll post the recipe for anyone interested. and pretty easy actually also i like how high in fiber and protein they are. One serving is 5.8g fiber and 14g protein.

Also, I am trying almond breeze almond milk for my coffee and cereal now, i just started today, it's 8oz for 60 cals so 20 less than my FF milk, i don't know if i like it yet but we'll see how it works in cereal.

Today we are heading out to visit this amazing private garden that is open to the public 6 months out of the year, all their bulbs (thousands of them are planted year after year on acres of land) are up in full force so now is the time to visit. then later i'll hit up the gym and do a workout, then later we have dinner with our neighbors. i think they are making some sort of shrimp pasta dish and she was talking about some healthy kind of fruit and cake dessert...hehe..she knows that i try to watch what i eat but then when she and i were talking we ended up getting on the subject of crepes and she's like oh maybe we should forget healthy and just have crepes with nutella and berries, lol. so either way i'm sure it will be yummy.

It's not sunny here today unfortunately, they say rain is coming tomorrow, but today is a good day for me to finish my planting on the patio since the plants hate it when you repot them or uproot them in 80 degree heated weather. They would much prefer this cloudy weather then a few days of rain to let them recover. So I am going to try to get that done today too. I'm bummed that it is supposed to rain til about Wed because that means I am mostly shut into the house, but we'll see. I'm sure I can find things to do hehee.

Here's the recipe..yum! Hope everyone is having or will have a great Sunday!!

________________

Blueberry Buttermilk Oatmeal Pancakes
1c 1% Buttermilk
1/2c Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
1.5 Tablespoons Oat Bran
1/3c Egg Whites
2 Tablespoons White Wheat Flour
1 Packet Splenda
Dash Salt
1/8 Tsp Baking Soda
1/3c Blueberries

Makes 2 Servings: Each Serving is Three 4" Pancakes.
Nutritional Information per Serving: 230 cals; 3.7g fat; 42g carbs; 5.8g fiber; 9.4g sugar; 14g protein.

Soak the oats and oat bran in buttermilk for up to 30 minutes. Add in the flour, egg whites, splenda, salt, baking soda and mix well. When ready to begin, slowly fold in the blueberries carefully so they do not turn the batter blue. On heated griddle, brush butter or spray faux-butter, cook pancakes a few minutes each side to desired dark color (these get very dark brown but that is just how they look, don't worry they won't burn). Serve!

You can use real butter for the griddle to add to the taste...I used about 3/4 Tablespoon for ours and then brushed them with whatever was left, so it added about 40 cals to each serving with the real butter...but I love me some real butter on pancakes! Or use butter spray or smart balance for less cals. I also used sugar free syrup on mine for about 15 cals, but Greg got the real maple syrup for 200 cals! hehe.

 

[Rod]

Date: 3/25/2007 12:06:23 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
Went to the gym and did the elliptical for 65 minutes this morning for 536 cals. The whole time there was some woman next to me talking on her cell phone and I just wanted to strangle her. Instead I just blatently eavesdropped, hoping she would get annoyed with me and stop, but no luck. And now I know ALL ABOUT her relationship problems with her sister. Geesh!

Last night I ate way to much of the hubby wonderful casserole. Sometimes I wish I was married to a man who didn''t cook, LOL! This morning I had half a container of yogurt before heading to the gym and I just at a LC for ''lunch'' (even though it''s only 11:00, but I''ve got to be out the door in half an hour for my open house). I need to load up my purse with a couple of snacks though becuase I won''t be home until after four and I know I will be hungry in between then and now.

And the weater here is PERFECT today -- 72 and sunny right now -- so maybe we''ll take The Demon on a long family walk when this evening. Oh I love spring!!!

Congrats on doing 65 minutes on the ellitptical DeeJay!! I agree with you about people talking on cell phones on the ellitptical. I think it''s incredibly rude. I enjoy my time on the elliptical. It''s me, my iPod and my adrenaline pushing me as hard as I can. I find that if someone''s on a cell next to me, it invades my space and is just totally annoying. Our gym in Florida (three weeks till we''re back there.. WOO HOO) does not permit cell phones while on machines or in the locker rooms. But, the gym here in NC., has no such policy and people take calls all the time and I hate it.

 

[Rod]

Happy Sunday Everyone!!!

Must admit that it was a picture perfect day in NC. The temperature was about 80 degree''s, the sky was clear and ultra blue and there was a nice cooling breeze all day. A front came through and tomorrow is supposed to be back in the 60s, which is a bit more appropriate for this time of year. We''ve had two record breaking days as far as temperature went in a row.

I slept in again this morning. I guess all the stress I''ve had and the missed sleep over the last couple of months finally caught up to me and now that I am feeling calmer, I''ve really been sleeping so much better. We had our healthy breakfast and then we stopped at the mall for a little shopping a snack before hitting the gym. It was pretty quiet at the gym today, which makes for an easier wokout. It''s so much nicer when you don''t have to wait for machines and we tend to workout harder when the gym has fewer people.

For dinner, we had baked chicken, steamed greenbeans and mushrooms and left over bread from last nights dinner. It was a nice meal and we finished with Lindt dark chocolate. Yummm. For a snack later, I''ll have a fuji apple.

It''s my last week at work. I only have to work Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday is Charlie''s birthday and we had already scheduled massages and a nice relaxing day away from work, so I''m looking forward to that.

I hope you all had a great Sunday and weekend!!!

 

[Mara]

whew busy day today but fun! we did the garden tour where we saw some beautiful bulbs and companion plants and took in some scenery, and then had lunch afterwards, they have a cute outdoor cafe on the grounds there. greg and i shared a fruit cup, a spinach gorgonzola walnut and cranberry salad and a sweet baguette ham and brie sandwich. then we had a lemon iced cookie for dessert, yum. came home, went to the gym...and used my lunch and snacks (i had half of the leftover cinnamon roll then tossed the rest) for my workout and burned 620 cals on the elliptical then about 50 with various arm weights. nice end to the week...with all my workouts and long walks i ended up burning about 3800 cals this week. woo hoo. and we walked about a mile around the grounds at the gardens today so that was a nice outing as well...esp since the sun came out when we were out there and it was actually a beautiful day from that point on! so we ate lunch outside etc. we're about to head off to our neighbors for dinner...yum can't wait to see what they have cooking up.

hope everyone had a fabulous sunday!!

 

[royalasscherlover]

sounds like everyone had a great weekend! i got up this morning and hit the gym for 45 minutes on the elliptical. and then i went shopping for the rest of the afternoon. i wear jeans to work most of the time, but i have a conference coming up in a few weeks where i actually need to wear business clothes for several days in a row, and most of my pants have gotten too big for me. i was thrilled to find that i now wear a size 4 in most pants!!! i got a few pair of pants and a new suit, so i think that i am set for a while.

dinner tonight was yummy - i went out with my parents post-shopping and had salad, grilled salmon and acorn squash.